In this authoritative and empathetic biography, Pnina Lahav reexamines the life of Golda Meir (1898–1978) through a feminist lens, focusing on her recurring role as a woman standing alone among men. The Only Woman in the Room is the first book to contend with Meir’s full identity as a woman, Jew, Zionist leader, and one of the founders of Israel, providing a richer portrait of her persona and legacy.
Meir, Lahav shows, deftly deflected misogyny as she traveled the path to becoming Israel’s fourth, and only female, prime minister, from 1969 to 1974. Lahav revisits the youthful encounters that forged Meir’s passion for socialist Zionism and reassesses her decision to separate from her husband and leave her children in the care of others. Enduring humiliation and derision from her colleagues, Meir nevertheless led in establishing Israel as a welfare state where social security, workers’ rights, and maternity leave became law. Lahav looks at the challenges that beset Meir’s premiership, particularly the disastrous Yom Kippur War, which led to her resignation and withdrawal from politics, as well as Meir’s bitter duel with feminist and civil rights leader Shulamit Aloni, Meir’s complex relationship with the Israeli and American feminist movements, and the politics that led her to distance herself from feminism altogether.
Exploring the tensions between Meir’s personal and political identities, The Only Woman in the Room provides a groundbreaking new account of Meir’s life while also illuminating the difficulties all women face as they try to ascend in male-dominated fields.
Awards and Recognition
- Winner of the Prime Minister Golda Meir Prize, Golda Meir Institute for Leadership
- A Financial Times Favourite Book of the Year So Far
"A thoughtful portrait of a complex world leader."—Kirkus Reviews
"Ground-breaking."—Jewish News Life Magazine
"[Lahav’s] book is an important addition to our knowledge of one of the most significant leaders of the last century."—Matthew D’Ancona, Tortoise Media
"An intriguing portrait of this most unlikely of influential twentieth-century leaders."—Abe Silberstein, Times Literary Supplement
"A witty, engaging approach to a much-studied subject. . . .Lahav provides a nuanced understanding of Meir’s life, which throws new light on a great woman often unfairly critiqued by journalists and historians alike."—Julia Neuberger, Jewish Renaissance Magazine
"This feminist biography of the only woman to become prime minister of Israel is a book which will appeal to the general reader interested in America and Israel."—Colin Schindler, Jerusalem Post
"The Only Woman in the Room: Golda Meir and Her Path to Power, is more than the life story of a woman. It is a narrative about the social and political history of the construction of a society from a feminist perspective—a narrative that links the personal and the political, as well as the personal and the public."—Hanna Herzog, Contemporary Jewry
"The Only Woman In The Room by Pnina Lahav, a retelling of the life of Golda Meir, Israel’s first and thus far only female prime minister, is a compelling account of Meir’s life, thought and politics."—Stephen Bush, Financial Times
“This is a remarkable book. Pnina Lahav paints a portrait of Israel’s fourth prime minister that is at once fascinating and nuanced. Lahav brilliantly deploys the lens of gender to illuminate the life of Golda Meir, the history of Israel, and the history of feminism.”—Laura Kalman, University of California, Santa Barbara
“The Only Woman in the Room is the definitive biography of Golda Meir. Nuanced, honest, and empathetic, it provides new insights into the life of a towering individual and decades of Israeli history. A tour de force.”—Jane Sherron de Hart, author of Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life
“The only woman in the pantheon of Israel’s founders, Golda Meir struggled to create and lead a state while facing constant resistance from her male counterparts. Pnina Lahav’s account of this struggle is enthralling, wonderfully perceptive, and deserves a wide readership.”—Derek Penslar, Harvard University
“Pnina Lahav’s compelling biography of Golda Meir sheds new light on the first and only woman to serve as prime minister of Israel, and presents a fresh view of gender’s impact on leadership.”—Dvora Hacohen, author of To Repair a Broken World: The Life of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah
